Zen Bound is a chill-out game where the challenge is to wrap rope around wooden sculptures.

Zen Bound publisher Chillingo has alerted us to the impending release of Zen Bound’s 1.2.1 update, which will include a new set of levels. These levels will be attached to “The Tree Of Nostalgia,” and they’ll be themed appropriately–Childhood, Old Days, 50s Sci-Fi and Retro Gaming.

Further, Chillingo tells us that update will fix a few niggling gameplay issues:

Paint spread from rope will be smooth and continuous

Rope interpenetrating with objects reduced

Silly bug with ‘Previous’ displaying the wrong value changed

Level beginning says ‘Play’ instead of ‘Continue’ if the save game had 0% coverage

Save game issues hopefully addressed

Ability to hide the in-game progress display (i.e. play “full-screen”)

Zen Bound is one of our favorite games of 2009, and it’s great to see that developer Secret Exit is still at work polishing it up and adding new content. We’re feeling nostalgic already just thinking about wrapping up that teddy bear…

iPhone gamers have been talking about Secret Exit’s Zen Bound for almost six months, in tones alternating between hushed reverence and messianic fervor. This kind of anticipation is practically unknown in our community. People wanted this game the same way console gamers ache for the next Halo or Grand Theft Auto–before they really even knew what it was, or how it worked. As it turns out, the hype was entirely justified: Zen Bound met and exceeded every single one of our outsized expectations. It is a fascinating game, a transcendental work of art, and a bold statement in favor of the creative singularity that is the App Store.

We have detailed Zen Bound’s gameplay in a previous hands-on, so we will keep our explanation brief. The object is to wrap wooden statuettes in string as thoroughly and efficiently as possible. There are 51 objects to wrap in total, and they are separated into two groups: the Tree of Reflection and the Tree of Challenge (a third tree will appear in a later update). Each tree is decorated with tags representing the statues, which are either carved in the form of animals or abstract shapes.

After wrapping an object, you are graded on how much of its surface area you managed to cover. 70% coverage earns you one flower, 85% gets you two, and 99% is good for all three. Your progress up the tree is regulated by how many flowers you cause to bloom. You will often have to revisit previously completed levels and perfect them to move up to the next batch of tags.

Zen Bound has many amazing attributes, but its touch controls stand out on top of everything else. They are flawless. Pinching the screen allows you to rotate an object around any axis you choose, while swiping rolls it up in string. It requires no real thought or effort at all to position the object however you like’”it literally feels like second nature.

Threading the string into tight crevasses and crannies does take some skill, but anyone will be able to do it with a bit of practice. The game feeds you as much string as you need to do the job, and it keeps it nice and taut, so you can easily control its path and see what you’re doing. The string behaves exactly the way you’d expect it to, too. You can wrap it around a corner, and friction will keep it in place while you reorient the object and start turning it in a different direction.

AppSpy takes a look at AG Drive in their latest video review. Giving it top marks and only dinging it for not having multiplayer. If you like “swooshy swoopy futuristic racers” this one might be the one.